Madmen don't keep diaries

Chapter 352, Scholar Fang Youliu

The carriage swayed and rocked as it traveled along the main road.

After a night's rest, Feng Xiuhu was refreshed and full of energy.

Taking advantage of the fine weather, I hung up the carriage curtain and chatted with the driver while enjoying the view.

"So what's your name?"

"Fang Youliu, my name is not very respectable, please excuse me."

Feng Xiuhu thought for a moment: "Is he the sixth child in his family?"

The coachman gave a thumbs-up and praised, "Master Feng has a good eye."

Feng Xiuhu grinned: "I thought all graduates of the Mystic Arts Academy were cultured people, how come they have such a name?"

Fang Youliu didn't hide anything and continued, "Most of the students in the academy come from all over the country—who knows whether they will be a cultured person when they are born?"

Feng Xiuhu nodded, agreeing with Fang Youliu's reasoning.

He scrutinized Fang Youliu's retreating figure: "Just what kind of cultivation do you possess?"

"Cultivation level?"

Fang Youliu smiled and said, "We don't call it that, we call it a degree—but it's pretty much the same thing."

"In the academy, from lowest to highest rank, they are apprentice, seeker of knowledge, bachelor of natural history, great traveler, professor of law, and dean."

"I am now a Bachelor of Natural History and am preparing to be promoted to a Grand Scholar of the Faraway School."

After a moment's thought, Feng Xiuhu realized that it matched the positions in the church and temple. The so-called scholar of natural history corresponded to bishops and high priests.

"Like Constance?"

Feng Xiuhu still remembers that in that notebook, the author called himself a naturalist, which turned out to be more than just a title.

"Um……"

Fang Youliu nodded: "Conster and I were both teachers and friends. He benefited me a lot on my academic journey. When he was preparing to be promoted to Grand Scholar of the Far Travels, I had just become a Bachelor of Natural History. I thought we would continue to travel together in the future, but I never expected that he would die on his travels."

"How did he die?"

Feng Xiuhu asked.

Fang Youliu smiled with relief: "It's most likely the church."

He turned his head and looked at the "Divine Guidance Across the Waves" painting standing in the corner: "I only found out later that Constance's trip had an additional mission—to lend it to the Church of the Mist."

"Professor Melantha said that the Church of the Mist and the Academy made a deal at the time. The Church was willing to use a Third Age stone tablet as payment to borrow the Touch of Light and Shadow."

Fang Youliu pointed to the "Divine Guidance Through the Waves" painting: "That's it—or rather, this frame. It's actually a creation of our Mystic Academy, originally called the Touch of Light and Shadow. It can lock an area and display the scene on the canvas. When it's reactivated, a one-way passage will appear between the locked area and the frame."

"This technology was initially used to enable emergency escape over long distances."

Fang Youliu shrugged: "I don't really understand the underlying principles, because I never studied it—that course was canceled a long time ago, and the technology was also shelved, supposedly due to serious safety hazards."

Feng Xiuhu overheard the unconscious murmurs in Shi's mind.

“...Jianyuan”.

Feng Xiuhu immediately asked, "Who?"

"what?"

Fang Youliu looked over.

Feng Xiuhu waved his hand: "It's alright, please continue." Fang Youliu smiled somewhat helplessly: "There's nothing more to say. It's not hard to guess what will happen next. The Church borrowed the Touch of Light and Shadow to set a trap. They didn't want the news to leak out, so they killed Const to silence him..."

Fang Youliu sighed deeply: "Sail City was originally the last stop on Constance's journey. Perhaps in his mind, after handing over the Touch of Light and Shadow to the church, he could smoothly return to Pioneer Island by ship."

"Just like climbing the ladder of knowledge, he fell at the last step."

Feng Xiuhu had heard him mention the word "travel" many times, and he was quite curious: "You guys also have winter and summer vacations?"

Fang Youliu was taken aback, then waved his hand and laughed: "It's not a holiday, you misunderstood."

"Traveling abroad is a necessary process for being promoted to the rank of Grand Scholar of the Far Travels."

"As the old saying goes, it is better to travel ten thousand miles than to read ten thousand books. So when we successfully become naturalists, we should start to prepare for our travels. Usually, we can choose between the Eastern Continent and the Western Continent. I chose the Eastern Continent. Sail City is just my first stop."

“We will record what we see and hear along the way, as well as our insights, in our natural history journals. After we return to the academy and pass the professor’s examination, we will be promoted to Grand Scholar of the Distant Journey.”

Feng Xiuhu suddenly realized: "Wait a minute, so whether I leave or not, you have to leave anyway? You're not just seeing me off, you're just giving me a ride on your way."

Fang Youliu smiled and nodded: "It doesn't matter who you go with!"

Feng Xiuhu felt like he had been cheated, and he crossed his arms and sulked.

Fang Youliu didn't bring up the matter again, lest he displease Feng Xiuhu, so he casually changed the subject: "On our way to Taijing, we will pass through five prefectures and cross three rivers."

"After leaving Sail City, we are now in the Southern Foothills State, one of the Five States."

Fang Youliu glanced at the sun and made a quick calculation in his mind: "At this pace, we can reach Jiangluo Creek before sunset and rest there for the night."

Feng Xiuhu quickly forgot his pent-up anger and leaned closer to ask, "What kind of place is Jiangluo Creek?"

Fang Youliu explained to him: "It is a county town. This place is famous for its silk and brocade. There is a small river in the town. The colored cloths are often washed in the river. So the river is called Jiangluo Creek, which later became the name of the county."

"This county town is one of the most prosperous places in the vicinity. Not only do dignitaries from big cities come here to make purchases, but merchants from surrounding towns also gather here. Towns like Fengping, Qingfang, and Baishi are not far from Jiangluoxi."

Qingfang Town?
Feng Xiuhu had heard of this place; it was Qian Guangtong's hometown.

Qian Guangtong did mention that the dye houses in the town often transported dyes to the county town for sale.

Feng Xiuhu looked at Fang Youliu suspiciously: "Since Fancheng is your first stop, how do you know the way around outside?"

Fang Youliu laughed: "Bird language spells are a required course at the academy."

He spread out his left hand, drew runes on his right palm, then raised his hand and made "sucking" sounds towards the sky for a while.

Before long, a gray-spotted bird landed on his hand, chirping incessantly.

Fang Youliu listened intently, occasionally making a "hmm" sound.

Once the birds had stopped chirping, Fang Youliu took a dried corn kernel from the cloth bag on his chest and fed it to the bird's beak.

The bird, carrying a ear of corn in its beak, flapped its wings and flew away.

Feng Xiuhu stared in disbelief: "What did it say?"

Fang Youliu said, "It said there would be a big market at Jiangluo Creek tomorrow, and that a lot of people with fire-breathing arrows were coming this way from a far away place. It also said that its egg was taken away by a snake yesterday."

Feng Xiuhu was shocked: "It even knows when the market is?!"

Fang Youliu waved his hand: "This is just my conclusion—it noticed that many people from the surrounding towns were heading towards Jiangluo Creek, and this was seen every few days, so it's not hard to guess that it was a market day."

Feng Xiuhu breathed a sigh of relief: "Then what is that fire-breathing arrow?"

Fang Youliu explained, "The muskets mentioned a very distant place, which should be even farther for us humans, so I guess it refers to the Great Xuan Army that is on its way to Fancheng."

P.S.: Volume 2 has begun!
(End of this chapter)